When one of the Aether staff members pulled out some Lotus Biscoff spread in the lunch room one day, he didn’t know what he was starting. The other staff passed it around and had a taste, and the question didn’t take long to form: "Could we do a beer like this?" The answer came just as quickly: "Yes. Yes we could."
That fateful day gave birth to Biscoff Porter, Aether’s 2023 GABS beer. It’s chock full of real Lotus Biscoff bikkies (450kg of them!); if you’ve never had Biscoff before, they’re caramelised biscuits flavoured with cinnamon, and they’re quite addictive. The brewers also gave this beer the vanilla and lactose treatment to add an ice-creamy vibe.
It’s all there. There’s cinnamon on the nose, with sweet vanilla and caramel in the mouth. And it’s nice and thick. Like, almost melted ice cream thick. But there’s nothing sickly or cloying in this beer: the spiced biscuits balance it out, the porter’s chocolatey-roast balances it out, and the booze and bitterness balance it out. And when you’re finished your sip (or the whole beer), the Biscoff remains strong, with plenty of sweet cinnamon opening up in a pleasant aftertaste.
At GABS, Aether served this beer up with a cup of soft serve ice cream on the side so punters could make a Biscoff Porter spider. So of course I had to try this at home. I didn’t have any soft serve, but I can confirm that a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream goes well in this beer, even if it’s confusing to eat (Do I drink it? Eat it with a spoon?).
What luxurious times we live in! Try explaining a Biscoff Porter spider to your great grandfather who used to enjoy a few beers at the end of a 70-hour week working at the sawmill.
Mick Wüst
Published June 16, 2023 2023-06-16 00:00:00
